A proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by one person. In the United States, approximately threefourths of all businesses are proprietorships. The major advantage of a proprietorship is control—the owner makes all decisions and does not have to answer to partners or a BOARD OF DIRECTORS. A proprietor, having total control over the business, receives all the PROFITs (and losses) and is liable for all the actions of the business. Unlimited LIABILITY is a major concern for proprietors. They can be sued for all of the proprietorship’s ASSETS as well as for their own personal assets. For example, if a worker for a small homerepair contractor (operating as a proprietorship) starts a fire, the contractor could lose his or her business and personal assets. For this reason proprietors often purchase liability INSURANCE. A proprietorship is usually easy to establish. In most situations, all that is needed is a business license and, if it is a retail business, a sales-tax license. In addition to the problem of liability, another concern for proprietors is bearing all the responsibilities of their business. In many cases of firsttime ENTREPRENEURSHIP, owners are quickly overwhelmed by the many duties that are part of running a business. While their focus is to provide a good or service, proprietors must manage personnel, taxes, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, regulatory compliance, legal issues, and a myriad of other concerns. In addition, without a business history and without partners or stock to sell to investors, it is often difficult for proprietors to raise CAPITAL. In the United States, proprietorships report their business INCOME or loss on Schedule C of their personal income-tax return. Because proprietorships are not incorporated (that is, they are not legal entities), their income is taxed as the proprietor’s personal income. Proprietors pay both the employer and employee parts of SOCIAL SECURITY taxes but are eligible for KEOGH PLAN retirement funds.